Using SolidSync Network/Bluetooth GPS

Thank you for using SolidSync Network/Bluetooth GPS, the quick and easy way to get location data over Bluetooth and TCP/IP. Help information can be viewed at any time by clicking on the Help button on the bottom of the application.

Using SolidSync Network/Bluetooth GPS you can connect another Bluetooth-enabled or network-enabled device (for example, a desktop or notebook computer or even another cellular phone) to your Android device and use your Android device as a location data source.

See the current location information in a simple display.

Make GPS data available to any other device that can receive GPS data over a Bluetooth serial connection.

Make the GPS data available to any other device that can receive GPS data over a TCP/IP network connection, and manage connected clients.

SolidSync Bluetooth GPS is compatible with any Bluetooth host. Please send us feedback if you experience any difficulties.

Starting the application

When the application starts up the first time the release notes will be shown as in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1: release notes

Tap the OK button to show the application help screen, as shown in Figure 2 below. This will be automatically shown the first time the application is started.

Figure 2: initial help screen

Tap the OK button to show the main application screen as in Figure 3 below: it includes service control buttons, status indicators and location details.

Figure 3: main application screen

You can tap the Help button to show the help screen (Figure 2 above) at any time.

Tapping the Menu key will show the control menu as in Figure 4 below.

Figure 4: control menu

Setting up the Bluetooth connection between your device and a client device

To start, pair your Android device with the client device by following the steps below. Press the Menu key to bring up the application control menu as shown in Figure 4 above. Tap the Bluetooth Settings option to open up the Bluetooth Settings screen as shown in Figure 5 below.

Figure 5: control menu

Ensure that Bluetooth option is checked (indicating that Bluetooth is enabled), then select Scan for devices and when the other device shows up tap and hold to bring up the Pair menu. You will need to complete the pairing process on your client device: the method to complete the pairing will vary based on the client device.
To request that your Android device be made discoverable by other Bluetooth devices, select the Make Device Discoverable menu option as shown in Figure 4 above. You will be prompted as shown in Figure 6 below.

Figure 6: requesting Bluetooth discoverability

If you select Yes, then a notification will be shown as in Figure 7 below.

Figure 7: activated Bluetooth discoverability

Once the pairing is complete, press the Back button to return to the main application screen.

Starting the GPS service

From the main application screen, tap the Start button to start the GPS service. If the GPS sensor is disabled you will be shown the Location and security settings screen as in Figure 8 below.

Figure 8: Location and security settings

Ensure the GPS sensor is enabled by checking the appropriate item as shown in Figure 9 below.

Figure 9: enable GPS sensor

Tap the Back button to return to the main application screen. If you do not enable the GPS sensor, the service will not be started and an error message will be shown as in Figure 10 below.

Figure 10: GPS sensor not enabled

If the GPS sensor is enabled the service will then start as shown in Figure 11 below.

Figure 11: GPS service started

Once the GPS service has started, feedback about the quality of the reception of GPS satellites will be shown in the status section of the display as seen in Figure 11 above.
Once a GPS fix is achieved, the location information will be shown as in Figure 12 below (you may need to scroll down).

Figure 12: location information display.

The Bluetooth functionality can be activated by clicking on the Bluetooth start button. If the Bluetooth system is not enabled, a prompt will appear (as shown in Figure 13 below).

Figure 13: Bluetooth activation prompt

If you select Yes, then the Bluetooth will be activated as shown in Figure 14 below.

Figure 14: Bluetooth activating

After the Bluetooth system is running, a Bluetooth serial port will be created and the NMEA (National Maritime Electronics Association) GPS outputs received from the Android GPS system will be relayed over this serial port. The status label will indicate that the Bluetooth service is waiting for a connection as shown in Figure 15 below.

Figure 15: waiting for a Bluetooth connection

A connection can then be made to this serial port from another device (such as a notebook computer or a Bluetooth-enabled PDA) to receive the GPS data. Note that with many laptop/desktop Bluetooth implementations there is a delay after disconnecting from a Bluetooth serial port before another connection to the same Bluetooth serial port can be made.
Similarly, the network functionality can be activated by clicking on the Network start button. When the network system is started a TCP/IP network server will be started on port 25010 and the NMEA (National Maritime Electronics Association) GPS outputs received from the Android GPS system will be relayed to all network clients. The status label will indicate that the network service is listening on the specific IP address as shown in Figure 16 below.

Figure 16: waiting for a network connection

A connection can then be made to this network service from any other device on the same WIFI network. If no WIFI network is available then an error message will be shown as in Figure 17 below.

Figure 17: WIFI disabled

By default the service will run on demand and will stop when the main application is no longer in the foreground. To enable the service to run in the background select the Keep service active in background option, as shown in Figure 18 below. If the service is running when this setting is changed the service will be stopped and restarted.

Figure 18: enabling background services

Bluetooth and network connections

Once a client device connects over Bluetooth, the status indicator will show up as in Figure 19 below.

Figure 19: active Bluetooth connection

Network clients can be seen by opening the Network Clients menu option as shown in Figure 20 below.

Figure 20: viewing network clients

Once the client list is open it will show the connected clients as in Figure 21 below. Each client entry will have the IP address and the duration it has been connected for.

Figure 21: list of network clients

Long pressing on an entry will popup a menu providing a Disconnect option as shown in Figure 22 below.

Figure 22: option menu for individual client

Tapping the Disconnect will show a confirmation prompt: if confirmed the connection to the client will be closed.

Replaying a saved trip

Network/Bluetooth GPS includes support for replaying trips saved with SolidSync Trip Tracker (available in the Android Market for an additional fee). From the main application screen tap the Menu key to open the control menu and select the Replay Trip option as shown in Figure 23 below.

Figure 23: select Replay Trip menu item.

If SolidSync Trip Tracker is not installed then the Android Market application will be opened to the SolidSync Trip Tracker entry as shown in Figure 24 below.

Figure 24: SolidSync Trip Tracker in the Android Market

If SolidSync Trip Tracker is installed, then a listing will be shown as in Figure 25 below. The listing will only show trips with NMEA data saved (for more information, see the Trip Tracker help file).

Figure 25: listing of available trips

Tap on any specific trip to select it. SolidSync Trip Tracker will return to Network/Bluetooth GPS with the selected trip loaded as shown in Figure 26 below.

Figure 26: loaded trip

Tap the Start button to start the replay. You will be prompted to select the desired replay speed as shown in Figure 27 below. If you choose Same Speed, then the replay will occur at the same speed as the original capture (for example, if the trip was captured over 2 hours, then the replay will take 2 hours). If you choose Maximum Speed, then the replay will occur at the highest rate possible (at a rate of greater than 1 NMEA event every second).

Figure 27: select replay speed

The replay will not start until the first connection is made (either a Bluetooth connection or a network connection).
Once the replay is stopped, you will be prompted the next time you start the GPS service if you want to use the last selected trip as shown in Figure 28 below.

Figure 28: reuse last trip

If you choose GPS, then the GPS sensor will be used. Otherwise the last trip will be replayed again.

Application settings and information

Tapping the Settings button on the front page will open the settings page as shown in Figure 29 below.

Figure 29: application settings

Options are available (you may have to scroll down) to review information about the software, terms of service and the privacy and content policies. You can adjust the GPS update interval and configure the number of network clients to accept. After making changes to these settings you will need to stop and restart the GPS service.
You can control the generated NMEA output using the NMEA Output Configuration options. Tapping this item will open up the NMEA output configuration screen as shown in Figure 30 below. From here you can enable/disable specific NMEA messages and apply additional filtering to the output to remove values from messages you may not want to be transmitted.

Figure 30: NMEA message output configuration

Sending Feedback

We really want to hear from you about errors you encounter, features you would like to see or suggestions on how to improve the user interface. To send us feedback, scroll to the bottom of the Settings screen and select the Feedback item, as shown in Figure 31 below.

Figure 31: selecting the Feedback option

Enter an email address (this is required, so we can get back to you about your requested change) and your comments and press the Submit button as shown in Figure 32 below to send it.

Figure 32: sending feedback

Your submission will be confirmed as shown in Figure 33 below, and that’s it. Thank you!